Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons of UK Diplomat Intercollegiate Board in Cardiothoracic Surgery (UK)
Member European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons
Former Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon UK

Successful heart surgery for rare disease formed
A successful complex and rare heart operation was performed in city for an unusual and rare heart disease the other day. According to a Press release issued here Monday Consultant heart and lung surgeon at Heart Center Sharif Medical City Hospital, Dr Mazharur Rehman performed the said operation.

My heart will go on.....Heart patient can proudly say after undergoing first of its kind surgery. Pakistan-born British national comes to Akhtar’s rescue.Masood Akhtar got his life back after undergoing

a complicated yes successful heart surgery known as ‘left ventricular myectomy’ at Sharif Medical Complex. A Pakistan-born British national performed the five-hour surgery and the first of its kind. Akhtar a 57-year old National Bank employee and father of three sons, had been suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease in which the heart muscle thickens which interferes with the function of the heart, since 2000.

“I went through a bypass operation but it was of no use. I consulted heart surgeons in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore but no one was ready to do the surgery, saying that it was complicated and not possible in Pakistan,” Akhtar told Daily Times. He said that he could not afford the surgery in the United Kingdom because it cost Rs 8 million in USA and 3 million in UK. However, Akhtar got admitted to one of the famous hospitals in the city and despite of a chance of losing his life during the surgery, he was willing to go for it. But the surgeon at the hospital refused to perform the surgery at the eleventh hour.

Fortunately for Akhtar, one of his relatives referred him to Dr Mazhar ur Rehman, a lung and heart specialist from the UK. He said that he went to Dr Rehman who agreed to do the surgery, that too, for as low as Rs 250,000. He said that he had no words to thanks Dr Rehman for performing the operation when others turned their back on him. Akhtar is now successfully recovering in the hospital and will be discharged in a couple of days. Dr Rehman told Daily Times that there were three types of cardiomyopathy: dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive. “Akhtar was suffering from HCM, also known as hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), in which the muscle of the left ventricle in heart enlarges obstructing the blood flow to the body flow from the heart. Moreover, the thickened wall sometimes also distorts one leaflet of the valve causing it to leak,” he said.

Dr Rehman said that symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy include shortness of breath on exertion, dizziness, fainting and angina pectoris (chest pain). “Sometime it can cause instant death, therefore regular cardio checkups are very important,” he said.